SodaStream Ramps Up Efforts to Fight Plastic Ocean Waste

Part of SodaStream’s brand proposition is to cut plastic bottle waste as consumers embrace the brand’s make-it-yourself beverage platform. It was one of the first brands to leverage the idea of cutting plastic trash as the Israel-based company tried to create an attractive alternative to anything bottled by Coca-Cola and PepsiCo.

SodaStream has stood firm in its pledge to fight plastic pollution. Last month, it set up a display in New York City to raise awareness of the negative consequences of single-use plastic bottles.

Now, in the midst of being acquired by PepsiCo for $3.2 billion, SodaStream is emphasizing the plastic waste theme again by making the first known attempt by a commercial company to clean up trash in open waters.

SodaStream said it has built what it called the “Holy Turtle,” a 1,000-foot contraption designed to clean plastic pollution from ocean waters without harming marine life. The company has already deployed it as part of a massive cleanup expedition in Roatan, Honduras.

Fast currents make cleanup efforts especially difficult, the company said. Its delegation included 150 SodaStream executives from 45 countries, international environmental specialists, the NGO Plastic Soup Foundation, and hundreds of children from local schools.

Plastic ocean waste is not only a growing environmental problem but also one that is increasingly being leveraged by brands as a way of demonstrating their commitment to environmental sustainability, whether their products are directly related to ocean waste or not.

“More than 8 million tons of plastic goes into the ocean every year,” said CEO Daniel Birnbaum in a press release. “This plastic doesn’t disappear. It breaks up into tiny particles, floats in the ocean, endangers marine life and and ends up in our food chain. We must all put our hands together to reduce the use of single-use plastic and commit ourselves to changing our habits and go reusable.”

SodaStream said that its initiative was inspired by a video filmed by Caroline Poers last year and featured on BBC, highlighting underwater photography of a fl0ating trash patch off the Caribbean coast of Roatan.